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Climate Change, Migration and the Cosmopolitan Dilemma
Author(s) -
Held David
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
global policy
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.602
H-Index - 33
eISSN - 1758-5899
pISSN - 1758-5880
DOI - 10.1111/1758-5899.12309
Subject(s) - relocation , dilemma , warrant , political science , political economy , set (abstract data type) , development economics , sociology , economics , epistemology , computer science , philosophy , financial economics , programming language
At its simplest, migration refers to the movement of people and their temporary or permanent geographical relocation. People have always been on the move and they have moved over great distances. In this article I set out a brief historical understanding of migration, and then focus on Europe and, finally, current dilemmas of European migration policy. In an era of climate change, war and uneven development, the pressures of migration have grown and could soon create an ever greater avalanche of movement. States act in a paradoxical way. On the one hand, they recognise the nature of the migration crisis and the necessity to broaden the definition of those who need urgent assistance. On the other hand, most host countries act on increasingly narrow definitions of those who warrant assistance and perhaps resettlement. This dilemma is examined and tentative steps are set down to show how it might be resolved.